More dirty tricks

Commissioner Al Riddle has been the subject of the usual last minute smear campaign by the Titus County political establishment.

His opponent, a dirty trickster who runs dirty businesses (Get some bleach and a mop, dude!) is another political opportunist who wants a cushy government job. He probably lost a potential bundle when beer and wine sales retail sales were defeated in the wet/dry election last year.

Riddle's opponent has misrepresented a number of facts. For example, all commissioners receive the same amount of money in their budget each year - except Riddle's. His budget is less because he only takes half of his salary and only budgets $5,000 per year for mileage reimbursement compared to the auto allowance of $15,600 per year that his opponent is going to collect.

This mileage slush fund is a probably illegal second salary for the commissioners, but Riddle has never accepted it. Some Titus County voters may recall how former County Judge Sam Russell - when running for re-election in 2010 - tried to defend and justify it. It was a laughable effort and contributed to his defeat.

Riddle went over budget in 2015 by approximately $15,000 and it will come out of the 2016 budget. No extra money was spent, and no additional money was added to the budget.  Any money not spent in the year that it was budgeted is carried over until the next year or until it is spent. Riddle's opponent has tried to imply Riddle ran some kind of deficit, which is dishonest nonsense. Also, Precinct 2 Commissioner Mike Fields also went over budget in 2015. Precinct 3 Commissioner Phillip Hinton went over budget in 2014, and in many previous years someone has gone over budget.

There's some baloney in that smear letter about a motor grader. The previous Precinct 1 Commissioner Don Boggs sold the county’s motor grader while in office and then leased one for three years at a cost of $78,000. Once he was in office, Riddle chose not to lease a motor grader any more and opted to buy a good used one instead. He paid $97,500 using the carry over funds from the previous years - money that had been saved up.

Al Riddle has fought the ever rising tax burden that presses down the average Titus County taxpayer. He's a real Republican and deserves a second term in office.

Vote Al Riddle for Commissioner Precinct 1.